The 2024 presidential election has shifted ever since Joe Biden removed himself as a candidate. Over the weekend, the president issued a statement, announcing he'll be focusing his efforts on finishing his current term and not seeking a second one. In this same statement, Biden also threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

Barely two days later, Harris quickly earned more than enough delegates to become the Democratic Party's de facto nominee. The vice president is now not only looking at running mate choices, but also traveling across the country to campaign.

Harris' massive rise and the excitement for her campaign are only some pieces of the puzzle. Since Biden parked his reelection campaign, there's been a massive surge in new voters as well.

Looking at the data from Vote.org

Voting registration platform Vote.org revealed that within two days of Harris replacing Biden, a 38,500 surge in voter registrations took place. 83% of these new voters are also young people between the ages of 18 and 34.

The youth vote will play a major role in the 2024 presidential race. This year, millions of new Americans who were too young to vote in 2016 or even in 2020 can now vote.

As more Americans can participate in elections, whichever party manages to connect with these voters stands the best chance of winning political elections.

Strong youth support for Harris

Young people, especially progressives and other left-wing voters, are taking to social media, showing support for the vice president's 2024 campaign. Harris has also received celebrity endorsements from Charlie XCX, Demi Lovato, and others.

TikTok, a platform that's known for attracting younger users, is seeing an explosion in pro-Harris posts and hashtags. Many TikTokers are piecing together various clips of Harris speaking or making points as a means of promoting her as a candidate.

This seems to suggest the vice president will pick up at least some younger voters who felt disaffected with the idea of Biden as the Democratic nominee. Platforms like The Guardian have even documented some Gen Z voters claiming they weren't planning to cast ballots in November, but have changed their minds amid Harris' candidacy.